Limited Chances
by Lawral
Summary: Paige will do anything for Emily, her love has no bounds. When a number of obstacles test their relationship, Emily quickly learns that she'll only have limited changes at true happiness.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Emily walked into her third period class and found a folder at her usual table. _Dover-Kerry _it read. She looked around at the handful of other confused students before following their example and searched out her name. She pause as she looked down at the folder bearing her surname.

_Fields-McCullers_.

Emily looked up to see Paige also looking at the folder. Their eyes met for a moment before Emily broke the contact and sat down, pushing the folder subtly toward Paige's side of the table.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen," Ms. Sawyer said a moment before the bell rang. "I am sure you are all curious as to your new seating arrangements."

She chuckled at the numerous mumbles of agreement coming from the roomful of students. "For the remainder of this semester you will all take part in a socio-economical team project. This project will count for half of your final grade." Ms. Sawyer paused to allow for the groans before continuing. "If you all will indulge me by looking at your desk partners."

In her peripheral vision, Emily saw Paige slowly turn to look at the side of her face. A frog had lodged its way into her throat as she turned her head, effectively catching sight of Paige's chestnut-colored eyes. So much had changed in the last few weeks; the way that Paige looked at her had changed as well. Love was still evident in her gaze but pain and longing had joined the crowd of emotions hidden in the swimmer's eye. Emily tried to swallow the frog that had taken up residence in her throat again.

"Congratulations! You are each looking at your husband or wife." Ms. Sawyer announced.

A dozen head returned their gazes to the front of the room. Some seemed excited while others looked like a four-year-old whose ice cream was suddenly ripped away. Emily continued to stare into Paige's orbs until the girl ducked her head.

"Now before you all groan and moan about this assignment, I want you all to be aware that I have spent two weeks preparing your personal folders. Inside your folders, you will find your couple history- how you met, how long you dated, how long you've been married- as well as your individual careers, salaries and financial obligations." Ms. Sawyer smiled. "I know that none of you would want to hurt my feelings by not taking this assignment serious."

Paige absent mindedly pulled the folder toward herself and opened it.

"Each couple have been paired by actual couples I've noticed around school and random pairings specifically designed to have either social or economical issues inside the relationship. Those couples with these two disadvantages were chosen randomly and by no means reflect my personal favoritism."

Paige closed the folder after reading the first paragraph of their relationship history. The parallels were uncanny.

"You will find, on the board, a daily event. You will take these challenges into your marriage as part of the final report. If, by chance, you were to find an asterisk next to your gender role- a personal journal entry is required based on the challenge." Ms. Sawyer informed them. "Paige, Emily, your name will be in parenthesis; determining your gender role for any specific journal entry."

An hour later Emily slung her bag down onto the courtyard table. Spencer looked up from her garden salad to her exasperated best friend.

"Afternoon, Sunshine."

Emily glared up to the tall brunette.

"What's going on?" Spencer asked, pushing her tray away slightly to lean her arms on the table.

"Sawyer; she paired me and Paige for some marriage assignment that is half our grade."

"Oh, yeah, I remember doing that."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, her timing is just spot on"

"Who's timing?" Hanna asked as she and Aria sat down with their lunch trays.

"Ms. Sawyer," Spencer announced. "Emily got married last period, to Paige."

"Seriously?" Aria sputtered. "Can't you talk to Ms. Sawyer? Tell her you've broken up?"

* * *

><p><em>Emily hung back slightly as the room cleared out for lunch. Paige had taken the folder, tucking it between two textbooks after Emily continued to refuse even looking at it. <em>

"_Excuse me, Ms. Sawyer?" Emily asked as the last of her classmates left the room._

"_Miss Fields," The young teacher greeted as she packed away her own bag before the lunch hour. "You have question about the assignment?"_

_She could feel her cheeks growing red at the thought of being educationally married to Paige for the next few weeks. "I was wonder if... whether I might be able to, uh, switch partners?"_

_Ms. Sawyer ceased her actions and looked up at the student in front of her. "Is there a problem with your pairing?"_

_Emily lowered her head, her fingers scratching at one another. "Paige and I," She raised her gaze once more. "We're not together anymore."_

_Ms. Sawyer continued to hold Emily's eye, instantly making nose of the unease in her chocolate-brown gaze. "I'm sorry to hear that, Emily. It appears that I unknowingly put you two into the social disadvantage category."_

"_You won't swap partners." Emily stated, feeling her stomach drop despite already anticipating the answer. _

"_As I said in class, I spent two weeks creating those folders." Ms. Sawyer reminded, picking up her keys and ushering Emily toward the door. "It will be interesting to see how your final report comes out."  
><em>

* * *

><p>Emily folded her arms across the table and groaned, allowing her head to fall forward. "How am I gonna do this?"<p>

"Is it really that hard to imagine being married to Paige?" Hanna asked her.

"Yes, I mean, you two were more domesticated than any of us." Spencer pointed out. "Now two weeks ago you were going to California with her; you were going to live together, remember?"

Emily sighed as she picked her head up again and looked at her friends. She knew they had a point about the relationship she'd shared with Paige.

"And now I'm not."

"Incoming." Aria mumbled as she looked over Emily's shoulder.

Paige walked up to the table, her hands nervously wiping a downward path against her thighs.

"Hey, Paige." Spencer greeted with a smile. "Here to sweep Emily off on a honeymoon?"

Paige blushed slightly. Despite Emily avoiding her, Aria's warm-cold shifts and Hanna having never really made an effort toward her, Paige was glad that Spencer had retained their mutual respect perception.

"Sort of, I guess." Paige caught Emily's eye once more. "I wanted to figure out a time to go over the folder together. Are you working today? I can come by The Brew after practice."

Four pairs of eyes had now settled on the former swimmer. Alone, she probably could have gotten out of the meeting for the day but it seemed that Paige had a lease one of Emily's friends in her corner... if not all three.

"Sure," Emily forced a smile. "I mean, I'm not working but The Brew sounds great."

Paige smiled softly, her hands stopping their nervous actions Emily swore she saw the brunette bounce on her toes a fraction, a subtle sign of pure happiness. "It's a date."

Before Emily could correct her ex, Paige had returned to the table on the opposite side of the courtyard.

"Emily has a date," Aria grinned in a sing-song voice.

"It's not a date," Emily stated. "It's schoolwork."

"Can I make the wedding scrapbook?" Aria continued.

Emily groaned again, her head once again falling against her folded arms.

* * *

><p>Paige walked into The Brew with the strap of her bag crossing over her chest. She paused briefly, looking around for the familiar face before continuing into the small alcove that she always saw the girls sitting in. Trevor, a junior from her Advanced Bio class, came over to take her order. Reaching into her bag, Paige pulled out the folder and simply stared at the two names on the cover.<p>

"Ahem," Paige looked up to see Emily standing above her. "Sorry, I'm late."

Trevor returned with the two steaming cups of coffee, mumbling a greeting to his coworker. Emily glanced down at the liquid before arching her brow at Paige.

"Americana, right?" Paige asked, though she knew the girl's usual order for every place in town.

The swimmer watched as Emily smiled softly before lowering herself into a chair opposite the couch she sat on. As per usual when Paige was in Emily's company, her chest ached at the refusal to sit next to her.

"So, have you looked at our folder yet?" Emily asked.

Paige shook her head, "Just the first paragraph back in class."

Silence fell over the pair as they continued to stare into each others eyes. Paige had never been able to close off the portal that lead right to her heart when it came to Emily. The ex-swimmer could practically see herself in Paige's eye. Pain, nervousness, and undying love radiated from the chestnut orbs she had always been able to lose herself in. Emily felt her own chest constrict as her own pain surfaced for a moment. The betrayal was still fresh and Alison continued to remind her of how close they'd come to being killed y Shana. Somehow, that was Paige's fault.

"So, do you want to read it or..."

Paige looked down at the folder in her hands, silently wishing that Emily would sit next to her as they studied the folder. "Oh, uh, sure."

Paige opened the folder as she heard a text alert from Emily's phone. She briefly saw Alison's name on the screen before Emily hit the ignore button and shoved her phone deep into her bag.

"Paige and Emily Fields-McCullers met in high school, true high school sweethearts. Stars of the Varsity Swim Team, the pair became serious in their senior year and continued on to college with matching scholarships." Paige glanced up at Emily who had shifted uncomfortably with the last sentence. "The couple became more serious, dating throughout college and marrying shortly after graduation."

"So we've been together five years," Emily summarized.

Paige turned the page to see a bullet page. "You have a career as a Sports Therapist, while I am teaching Health and Fitness as well as coaching Cross Country."

Both girls seemed to find their faux careers sufficiently acceptable as Paige continued to read.

"You have a salary of a hundred dollars a day, mine is eighty-five." Paige skimmed down the spreadsheet. "The mortgage on our house is fifteen-hundred... bills, including car payments, insurance and utilities is nine hundred. Leaving food, entertainment and savings at just over eighteen-hundred."

"Hello, Middle Class." Emily joked.

"Shouldn't be too difficult," Paige calculated. "As long as one of us doesn't end up in hospital for an extended period of time."

"I wonder how she decided all of this," Emily voiced. "I mean, now that I can't swim- Sports Therapy wouldn't be such a leap."

Paige smiled, looking up at the beautiful girl in front of her. "Did Ms. Sawyer give you an idea?"

Emily smiled easily in return, "Maybe."

Silence suddenly enveloped the two girls as their eyes met. Paige had always loved how Emily's whole face would light up when she smiled; she loved it more when she was the reason for that smile. Paige instantly saw a distraught Emily in front of her. The very Emily who was mourning the loss of her first girlfriend. It was that story of her crazy grandfather and the bright smile that had made her feel truly happy since coming out to her parents three months before.

"Uh, so, do we have any kids?" Emily asked, breaking the lingering gaze and joining Paige on the couch.

Paige felt her pulse quicken and a flutter in her stomach as Emily sat next to her and hunched forward to read the binder in front of them. The swimmer was completely aware of the two inches that separated their thighs.

"Uh, I don't believe so." Paige sat up and leaned forward, mimicking Emily's posture. "I didn't know you wanted kids."

Emily shrugged as she continued to gaze intensely at the folder yet not really seeing the gibberish written inside. "Yea, I mean, most people want kids don't they?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," Paige admitted.

Emily turned her head unable to describe the feeling of sadness that coursed through her chest. "Really?"

Paige met her eye once more, shrugging a shoulder. "Can't close the closet door once it's opened."

* * *

><p>Mr. DiLaurentis had completely lost his mind. Alison had been locked away in her house since the day following her mother's funeral and it had quickly lost its luster. She didn't want to be hiding anymore; not when she'd finally returned home to where everyone adored her again. The girls had all started acting strange over the past week and she could feel her group pulling away from her; that was just not acceptable. At least she had Emily. Emily could never stay angry at her; knowledge that she loved having because it made her so much easier to manipulate.<p>

Alison walked around town. She knew that she should be accustomed to the gawks from passerby's but it wasn't exactly the type of attention she yearned for. It got rather tiresome being stared at all the time. She groaned quietly as she pushed the door open to The Brew as another group of children stopped in their tracks as she'd walked toward them.

Ali looked around her for a moment, catching her bearings before going to order a coffee. She'd begun to take a step to the counter when she noticed the two brunettes staring intently at each other on the couch opposite the door. As she gazed at the unknowing pair, the look she witnessed burned white-hot jealousy through her. Emily and Pigskin?

"Can't close the closet door once it's open." Paige said as she approached them.

"Depends on the closet, Pigskin." Alison sneered.

The thread that held Emily's attention to Paige's chestnut eyes instantly snapped. She glanced up to her best friend and suddenly felt Paige's body stiffen as she turned her attention to the blonde as well. Almost immediately Paige had turned into the crying shell she'd been when she confessed the bully-victim relationship she'd shared with Alison before her disappearance. A part of Emily wanted to reach out and hold the girl just as she'd done that night on her front step.

"Hey, Em." Alison continued sweetly, as if she hadn't just taken a jab at Paige's sexuality. "I thought we were meeting up after school. I've been cooped up in that house all day. Do you want to go see a movie with me?"

Paige remained silent, knowing that Alison was attempting to get a rise out of her by openly asking Emily on what was to appear as a date. Her eyes remained glued on the folder, studying the mash up of their surnames.

"You're not busy, right?" Alison spoke again in that award-worthy innocent voice she used to entice people to do what she wanted of them.

"Actually-"

"No," Paige suddenly spoke up. "No, we're done."

Emily looked down to Paige's hands as she folded the notebook and went to shove it in her bag. Her hands were shaking slightly as she shoved the folder between her Bio and Trig books. "Paige-"

"I'll see you later, Emily." Paige said as she got to her feet and stepped past Alison without even closing the zipper on her backpack.

Emily watched from the couch as Paige twisted the knob, slung open the door and pulled it close behind her. She jumped visibly as the door slammed, signaling Paige's retreat. Her lips formed a tight line as she returned her gaze to the blonde standing above her.

"What was that?" Alison snapped.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked, picking up the two cups of coffee that sat in front of her on the table.

"Don't play dumb, Emily. It's not becoming of you." Alison paused as she caught Emily's eye briefly. "I saw how you two were looking at each other. You were practically undressing her with your eyes."

The brunette straightened up as she stood, throwing her bag over her shoulder and picking up the cups. Alison followed her as she deposited the cups in a container where Angie stood clearing a table next to the door.

"You should be careful who you associate with, Emily; you wouldn't want to give off the wrong impression."

Emily opened the door before turning on Alison again. "It's just a school assignment. Paige and I were partnered together, I don't have a choice."

"Of course, you have a choice-"

"If I want to fail."

Emily turned to proceed out the door when she felt Alison's hand catch her arm. "I don't want you to see Pigskin again."

Almost instantly, Emily jerked her arm away from the blonde and took a half-step forward. Her nose was mere inches from Alison's and the gleam in her eye was of red-hot anger, not the adoration that Alison was so used to seeing. "Don't call her that ever again. Her name is Paige."

The blonde wasn't even given a moment to completely understand what was happening- that Emily had just stood up to her for the first time, that she was defending Paige McCullers- when Emily turned on her heel and strode out the door without so much as a second glance. She was losing her girls, they weren't her puppets anymore.

That was just not acceptable.

* * *

><p><strong>So this is my first attempt at Paily. My muse has been nagging at me for some time now and since I couldn't decide which story to write, I will be combining the three ideas. This is part one- HS Paily. Thanks to my RP twin for having such a positive reaction to this chapter. I love you girl!<strong>

**Please let me know if I should continue with comments, follows, likes... all that jazz. Thanks!**

**Lawral**


	2. Chapter 2

**A few shout-outs to start off Chapter Two. **

** jtbush09- Sorry, hon, but you have to wait for updates just like everyone else. Thanks for being so amazing with my hectic life and supporting another passion (aside from my three angels).**

** Me A Genius- Thanks for reading; this chapter took quite awhile to write because of some personal issues. However, you gotta love the ideas that come to you at work, huh?**

** Jbo87- Thanks for approving the start of this story. I wasn't sure if it was gonna be any good. You're such a great RP twin and I wouldn't replace you for a million RP bucks!**

** pailypride- Thanks for being my sounding board, love! You know more about the story than anyone else. ;-)**

OK, so I know that you all had a massive wait for this chapter. I tried to get it out before the beginning of November, which was the start of NaNo. I failed it, by the way, for the second time. I do want to point out that as I work on the chapters, I will post little quotes or scene hints on my Twitter account. You can find me at Lawral82

Kisses!

**Chapter Two**

Emily entered the classroom vehemently. She had been looking all morning for Paige; as of yet, the brunette had been able to avoid her. During third period, however, there would be no place to hide. Not when she had to share a desk with Emily for an hour. After her departure from the Brew, Emily had searched the empty sidewalk in search of Paige's car.

"Excuse me," Jenny Dover said, coming up behind Emily in the doorway.

Wordlessly, the former swimmer walked further into the room and deposited her bag on the table she'd shared with Paige the morning before. Emily pulled out a notebook and began to write down the daily event from the board as the classroom filled.

The bell rang suddenly and Emily's gaze fixed on the door as two stragglers tried to inch in the doorway while Ms. Sawyer got to her feet. Paige was nowhere to be seen.

"Alright, I am assuming that you all have read over your folders. I am also going to assume," She hinted, throwing a smile at the two students who had just glided into their seats. "That you have all written down the daily event and will keep it in mind as..."

Emily tuned out the rest of the day's lesson as she continuously glared toward the vacant seat to her right.

The hour past incredibly slowly as she continued to look toward the empty chair as if Paige would materialize out of nowhere. Emily exited the lunch line and looked around the lunchroom. She had sworn she'd seen Paige's Prius in the parking lot that morning.

"Earth to Emily," Spencer voice sounded from her left.

"Huh?" Emily said, turning her attention to her friend.

"I asked if you were going to sit with us or if you planned on standing here all period."

Emily stepped in line with Spencer as they made their way toward the usual table they shared with Hanna and Aria. Sitting down, Emily twisted the cap off of her water bottle but looked among the faces of the lunch room.

"Looking for someone in particular?" Spencer smirked, twisting the cap from her juice.

"Huh?" Emily asked again, turning to face Spencer.

Spencer snickered, choking on her juice for a moment.

"Whoa, easy, Spence." Aria said as she set her tray down. "Juice is to drink, not inhale."

Spencer narrowed her glare as she coughed a few more times. Aria smiled brightly in return as she sat down and removed the cover of the salad on her tray.

"So, why is Emily trying to choke you to death?"

"Emily's doing what?" Hanna asked, taking the remaining seat next to Emily.

The three looked silently at Emily, who was continuing to look around the filling lunch room. Spencer started smirking as Hanna and Aria looked in the same direction as Emily.

"She's looking for Paige." Spencer supplied as the two returned their questioning gaze to her.

"Remind me," Hanna spoke. "Wasn't she freaking out, just yesterday, about being married to Paige?"

Aria watched as Emily scanned a few tables filled with members of the swim team. "Apparently, that was yesterday."

The tiny brunette reached across the table to gain Emily's attention, grinning when she made a questionable grunt. "How was your date yesterday?"

"It wasn't a date." Emily groaned, picking up the burger from her plate.

"Then why are you looking for Paige?" Hanna countered.

"I'm not looking for Paige." Emily mumbled.

"Alright, Pinocchio, I think I just saw your nose grow." Spencer smiled.

Aria looked at Emily closely. Her brow was furrowed, her mouth was slightly agape as her bright eyes roamed over the features of every single person in the room. She knew the look on her friend's face very well after the past year.

"Em, is everything alright?"

"I'm fine," Emily answered vaguely.

"That's great," Spencer said, also noticing the familiar face of her best friend. "But that's not what she asked."

Emily finally caught sight of Paige sitting at a table outside in the courtyard. Her normally gorgeous brown hair had been thrown into a messy pony, she'd layered a red plaid shirt over a white t-shirt spattered with light blue specks of paint. Emily made note that the color seemed to match that of her bedroom walls. In all honesty, Paige looked defeated as she pushed her fork around the plate in front of her. She barely looked up as someone passed by, seemingly having greeted her in passing. The smile from yesterday had vanished from the swimmer's features; Emily found herself missing how Paige's smile seemed to light up her eyes. It had been weeks since she'd seen the light in Paige's eyes, yesterday had been close but not like she was used to.

She watched as Paige pulled the blue, floppy folder from her bag and set it in front of her before opening the cover and reading. The empty chair next to her in their Economics class suddenly reminded her that she had been searching to speak with the girl all day; and Paige had skipped the one guaranteed opportunity Emily had.

"I'll be right back," Emily announced, never taking her eye off of Paige.

"And there she goes," Spencer commentated in monotone, as Emily got up from the table and walked briskly toward the lunchroom doors.

* * *

><p>"Where the hell were you?"<p>

Paige closed her eyes briefly at the sound of the voice above her. Immediately she scolded herself for coming to school at all after what had happened yesterday. The fork in her hand was still plunged into the visually disgusting casserole that she'd been served for lunch. Instead of answering, Paige removed the fork and pushed her tray away slightly before turning and looking up to Emily for a moment.

"Why weren't you in class?" Emily confronted.

Paige shrugged a single shoulder before gazing down at the folder again, closing it and trying to slide it off the table without Emily noticing. "I skipped."

"Yeah, I got that."

Paige exhaled softly; she could hear the pain and anger in Emily's voice. The toned former athlete took a seat next to Paige. Emily had positioned herself so her gaze bore into the side of Paige's face; her gaze never faltered or deviated as she waited somewhat impatiently for the swimmer to look at her.

"Why?"

The courtyard suddenly felt as if it was suffocating. Or perhaps it was the conversation that seemed to be suffocating to her. There had only been once in which she'd lied to Emily, and even that was debatable. If there was one thing that she did pride herself in when it came to Emily, she'd never flat-out lied to the girl.

Paige turned to face Emily, looking straight into her angry chocolate orbs. "I skipped because of you."

Emily recoiled visibly as if Paige had literally smacked her across the face. Her brows furrowed even further as pain replaced her anger. What did Paige mean, she had skipped because of Emily? "Me?"

"Yes," Paige said matter-of-fact. "I knew that you'd want to talk about yesterday and... Alison."

Emily grazed her eyes over Paige's unkempt appearance once more. The swimmer had really came into her own skin after coming out; she didn't have to suffer in girly outfits that she thought would help hide her secret, however she had her own style that still involved accessories. Today, Paige's neck was bare and the studs in her ears were simple- the same ones from the day before.

"I don't want to talk about Alison." Paige shrugged again, turning her attention back to the lunch plate. She picked up her fork and returned to stabbing at the casserole.

"She was just trying to-"

"I know what she was doing," Paige interrupted, looking up to Emily once more. "How was the movie?"

Emily looked confused for a moment. Then it hit her; Alison had been tormenting Paige by asking her to a movie moments before the girl had practically ran from the coffee shop. "I didn't go. Look, I'm really sorry..."

Her words faltered as Paige held up a hand to stop her. The girl had thrown her napkin on the uneaten lunch, got to her feet and gathered the tray. "You aren't the one who should apologize for what Alison does. She never will and we both know that if she did apologize, it would all be a lie."

"Paige-" Emily tried once more.

"I got to go. Bye, Emily."

Emily watched as Paige dumped her tray into the nearest trash can and, instead of going inside the lunchroom doors, turn the corner that would take her to the student parking lot. She'd never seen the girl so detached. Even after Nate and Garrett... Paige had dealt with some PTSD but Emily hadn't ever seen her following Alison's bullying.

"_I was willing to do much worse to myself."_

* * *

><p>Emily leaned against the headboard of her bed, her Econ book propped up against her knees. She had tried for nearly an hour to concentrate on the reading assignment but her mind kept drifting to Paige's excuse for skipping class. Why did Paige have to know her so well? All she had wanted to do was make sure that Paige was alright after being unwillingly confronted with Alison.<p>

Alison had been trying to call her since the day before without success. Emily didn't know what to say. She'd never stood up to Ali before; she was sure that Alison would yell back at her the way she did when Spencer clashed with the blonde. As angry as she was, Emily was certain that she couldn't handle Ali yelling at her. She had just gotten her best friend back. Alison had promised she'd changed.

Next to her, the tiny screen on her cell phone lit up. Alison's smiling face looked up at her. Emily sighed as she picked up the device and pressed the green talk button. "Hey."

* * *

><p>Spencer pulled into the parking lot. Emily hadn't returned to the lunch table after she'd gone to the courtyard to talk to Paige. None of the girls had been able to talk to Emily about what had happened and Paige had gone missing. She hadn't realized how little she knew about her best friend's girlfriend until she'd set out to talk to her. Paige hadn't been found at her house, the Brew or the woods that Emily had mentioned she ran. As she had been driving back through town on her way to the Grille, she'd found Paige's car in the student lot of the school.<p>

Spencer found the door to the natatorium unlocked; Paige must have returned to school for practice and stayed over. As she walked into the pool area, Spencer was rewarded with the image of the object of her search gliding through the water effortlessly.

She made her way toward the edge of the pool and stood watching. Spencer had seen Paige swim during the few times she'd gone to cheer Emily on. It appeared that Paige was swimming leisurely.

"I thought you and Emily fought over that anchor spot," She yelled out as the brunette reached the far end. "Don't you have to be fast to be anchor?"

Paige turned, smiled lightly and swam over to the side of the pool to lift herself out. She picked up her towel and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Emily's not here."

Spencer had crossed her arms over her chest as she strode toward the swimmer and nodded her head slightly. When she'd tried to call Emily, her call had gone unanswered. "Yeah, I know."

On her way to the school, Spencer had seen Emily's car sitting outside of the Grille. Through the window she'd noticed a familiar blonde sitting across from the raven-haired athlete. Alison.

"I came to see you actually." Spencer continued.

Paige had thrown her track-suit jacket on and stuffed her hands deep into the pockets as she stood opposite her ex's best friend. "Why?"

Spencer shrugged. "You dated my best friend for months; it kind of makes us friends, right?"

It had taken a few weeks and near death for Paige to be exonerated as a possible A suspect. Since then, her relationship with Emily's friends had been mostly 'by association.' There hadn't been many instances where she was faced with one of the girls without Emily at her side.

"I couldn't help but notice how distracted Emily was today." Spencer said, testing the waters. "Especially at lunch."

Paige lowered her gaze. First Emily had ambushed her and now Spencer. Would Hanna and Aria be camped out on her doorstep next?

"It was nothing." Paige said as she gathered her few items.

Spencer stepped forward and reached her hand out to the other girl's arm. "Paige... Did something happen yesterday? At the Brew?"

"Before or after Alison showed up and pretended I didn't exist?" Paige asked, her tone a bit harsher than she'd realized.

It suddenly all made sense to Spencer. Emily was searching for Paige because Alison had most likely been her typical grade-A-bitchy self. She watched as Paige threw her goggles and swim cap into her bag and tossed the slightly moist towel over her shoulder.

"Before: it was great." Paige admitted. "We were reading over the folder and she was smiling.:

The image of the few moments between when they'd moved closer together and when Alison had announced herself had been bittersweet, creating a smile and soft blush to cross Paige's face.

"Then Alison came up and asked Emily out. Right in front of me."

Spencer sighed, "She only did that to get a rise out of you."

"Well it worked." Paige said forcefully, before taking a deep breath and dropping her gaze from Spencer once more. "I left."

"You left?"

Paige nodded. "I couldn't sit there and listen to Alison pretend as if Emily and I were never more than friends."

Spencer stood. silently studying the brunette in front of her. Back when they'd played field hockey together, Paige had been fierce. She didn't let anyone push her around the field and gave as well as she took. Then she'd quit playing. It had never occurred to her that Alison's torment had probably caused the sudden disappearance of the tough player Paige had been.

Without warning, Spencer pulled Paige by the shoulders into a bone-crushing hug. Three years ago it hadn't mattered who they'd hurt; Alison DiLaurentis had taken her out of obscurity and made her popular. It wasn't until last year that she'd wished she could take back all the horrible things that she'd done as part of Alison's posse. The people that Ali had tormented were actually pretty great people and very loyal friends.

"Don't give up on her, Paige." Spencer said as she felt the girl's arms lift slowly, awkwardly up to her elbows. "She loves you; anyone with eyes can see it."

Paige grinned lightly, not really happy about the pity pep-talk she was receiving. Spencer pulled away from the hug and smiling, a playful glint in her eyes.

"I bet Jenna can even see it."


End file.
